ANTON Lubbe, vice-president of Eastern Platinum’s (Eastplats’) South African operations, has resigned effective August 31.
His resignation represents a blow for Eastplats given he helped install an operational plan in the wake of a management ouster and amid low platinum group metal (PGM) prices. He will be replaced by a former Lonmin employee, Hannelie Hanson, who will become GM while Diana Hu, CEO, and Eastplats COO, Andrea Zhang, will also share some of Lubbe’s former duties.
“We appreciate the work and significant contribution Mr. Lubbe made in seeing the company through its care and maintenance phase,” said Hu in a statement to the JSE. She added that progress was being made on development of a chrome re-treatment project: Barplats Zanfontein UG2 tailings.
Completion of the project, which is in joint venture with Union Goal Offshore Solutions, was estimated to be at the end of the third quarter of this calendar year with “initial production” pencilled in for “as early as the fall of 2018” (South African spring).
Litigation against Eastplats and launched by Alpha Global Capital in South Africa and due in September had been removed from the court roll owing to the claimants’ inaction, Eastplats said. But a claim totalling nearly R143m had been launched in the British Virgin Islands, it said.
Alpha Global is claiming that a 2007 agreement entitles it to funds should the company engage in a “fundamental transaction”. Hu said Eastplats would “… take steps to oppose the claim”.
